A peace plan to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine came under renewed strain on Wednesday, with Ukraine and Russia clashing publicly over the next steps and further Ukrainian military casualties from rebel attacks testing a fragile ceasefire.

Representatives from the Myanmar government and armed ethnic groups resumed peace talks in Yangon on March 17 in an effort to finalise a nationwide ceasefire accord, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Australia's conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott came under renewed leadership pressure on Sunday, a little over a year into office following a voter backlash in a state poll and a slump in his personal approval rating.

The European Union (EU) has renewed its commitment to supporting Vietnam’s multi-dimensional transitional process, as evidenced by its increase of non-refundable aid from 300 million EUR to 400 million EUR for 2014-2020 despite the austerity context in the continent.

The European Union (EU) has renewed its commitment to supporting Vietnam’s multi-dimensional transitional process, as evidenced by its increase of non-refundable aid from 300 million EUR to 400 million EUR for 2014-2020 despite the austerity context in the continent.